Chapter 6
It was going to be the Christmas holidays in a week. Gred and Forge had just recovered from many months of teasing Harry and Ginny since the time they witnessed Harry's proposal to Ginny in the Future. They haven't told anyone about their encounter with the time machine, and everyone was surprised at the twins' sudden interest in getting Harry and Ginny together. They would write notes to the both of them, telling them to meet each other at midnight somewhere around the school; they would encourage Ginny to turn up and watch the Quidditch practices; they would send a Valentine's Day gift to Ginny, stating that it was from Harry. the list goes on. However, all these did not improve their relationship at all - it only resulted in their growing awkwardness when they were with each other. Ginny would blush furiously whenever she was within 5 metres of Harry, and Harry would try to avoid her at all costs. The twins were furious that absolutely nothing could be done to get them together. They were at breakfast, and they were just having a not-so-silent debate between themselves whether to get a break or not during the Christmas holidays (to revise and improve on their matchmaking plan) when Errol dropped a letter in George's pumpkin juice and fainted dead away on the breakfast table.
George looked down at Errol indignantly, "Hey, can't you aim properly?"
Fred, the more humane one, picked up Errol and examined him. "George, give him a break. You know how ancient Errol is, and look at how tired he is! I'll go up to the Owlery and get him recovered after we have read what Mum had written."
George silently thought that perhaps Fred would establish a new society called SPIM (this time it stands for Society for the Protection of Inaccurate Messengers), but he decided against telling Fred about it. He did not want another argument with his twin. They were supposed to be united anyway.
Fred carefully picked up the soaked letter from George's pumpkin juice, took out his wand, and muttered a charm. The letter became dry instantly. He then opened the letter.
Fred and George dears,
We're afraid we can't let you come home during the Christmas Holidays. You see, your father and I have decided to go on a trip to Paris. All my friends are having so many honeymoons and I really envy them! So your father decided to have this honeymoon with me to France, where we can enjoy ourselves without having to take care of you children. Do take care of yourselves and don't get into any mischief! And do keep a lookout on Ron and Ginny - make sure they are alright. We'll soon owl you with loads of pictures when we get back.
Love from Mum.
P.S. I've already written to Ron and Ginny so you don't have to tell them about it.
"Wow." George muttered.
"A honeymoon." Fred murmured.
They looked at each other, and immediately erupted into peals of laughter.
"Oh my, they're already parents and they're going for a honeymoon?" George exclaimed unbelieveably.
"Mum really sounds like a love-struck little girl who is absolutely swept off her feet by Dad's love!"
"Hmm. I wonder if Ginny will sound like that when she writes to us to tell us that she's going on a honeymoon with Harry?" asked George.
Ginny, who was nearby, heard it and knocked over a glass of milk.
Harry, who was also nearby, glared at the twins.
The twins made a wise choice of shutting up, and proceeded to decide not to have a break during the holidays, but instead to make use of their Christmas holidays at Hogwarts with Harry to get the couple together. They looked at each other and grinned. "The Christmas holidays are going to be fun," they thought.
***
Hogwarts was deserted as almost everybody had gone home for the Christmas Holidays. The Weasleys and Harry were the only Gryffindors staying in Hogwarts for Christmas. The twins were in glee when they found that out. They knew that it was the perfect opportunity to get Harry and Ginny together. They also knew that Ron was the only obstacle. He seemed to be stuck to Harry, and wasn't bright enough to sense that the twins were trying to matchmake Harry and Ginny. To make things easier, the twins decided to tell Ron the truth. They pulled Ron into an empty classroom, and began their lectures.
"You see, Ron, we have something really important to tell you." Fred began.
"We need to inform you that we are trying to get Ginny and Harry together." George continued.
"WHAT?!?" Ron bellowed. "YOU CAN'T! GINNY'S MY BABY SISTER! YOU CAN'T - "
The twins hastily covered Ron's mouth. "Do you want everybody to know what we're doing?" George hissed. "Just shut up and listen to us, kid. It'll do you good."
Ron opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, not knowing what to say. He ended up gaping at the twins, searching for an answer.
"Okay. You see, last summer, we were searching the net and we found this article stating that scientists were developing and experimenting a time machine that can bring us to the future and back to the past."
"We were curious about our futures, so we decided to find the Time Machine. We located it using the Marauder's Map - betcha didn't know that it can be used to map places outside of Hogwarts - and we found out that it was being experimented at this deserted house right behind our house."
"So we went there, and went to our futures, and we happened to stumble upon this particular event of Harry proposing to Ginny."
"And Ginny agreed?" asked Ron. His eyes were bulging out from his head.
"Yep. What did you think? Ginny's not stupid you know. She likes Harry and Harry likes her and Harry is such a nice guy."
"But Ginny's my baby sister and I can't let her marry my best friend!" Ron protested.
"Ron," Fred began solemnly, "you have to stop thinking of Ginny as your baby sister. We'll all have to grow up one day and get married. Ginny won't be your 'baby sister' forever. She'll grow up! Besides, what do you think Harry will be thinking of when he finds out about you and Hermione?" Fred grinned.
"What about me and Hermione?" Ron asked curiously.
"Harry must be devastated when he finds out next time that you like Hermione." George said.
"WHAT? ME AND HERMIONE?" Ron practically fainted.
"Don't you like Hermione?" asked Fred.
"Erm. me? Like Hermione? Forget it." Ron said with a note of uncertainty.
"Hmm. who was the one who fought with Hermione when she dated Krum? Who was the one who saw Krum as an enemy instead of an idol? Who was the one who was soooooo angry about Hermione and Krum that he said that Hermione was 'fraternizing with the enemy'?" George asked.
Ron was utterly defeated.
"Okay. so I like Hermione in the future. But it's not like we are getting married or something, right?" Ron said, blushing.
"Hmm. so ickle Ronniekins wants to know about him and Hermione! How interesting. " Fred grinned wickedly.
"Oh shut up."
"To say the truth, you did get engaged to Hermione in the future. You two were like two lovebirds, inseparable and snog-glish and - "
"Shut up. Ok. I get your point. So I'm supposed to help you get Gin and Harry together right?"
"Yes, you dunderhead. For a moment I thought you didn't have any brains." Fred said.
"Okay, I'll help." Ron finally agreed.
"Good. Now you'd better shut up about us looking into our future our else you won't be in one piece next time."
"Fine. And you'd better shut up about me and Hermione too, or else I'll tell everyone about your 'adventure'."
"Deal."
***
It was Christmas Eve and the dining hall looked simply beautiful. Professor Flitwick and Hagrid had put up all kinds of festive decorations, including a glowing Christmas tree. Since there were so few students staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, Professor Dumbledore made all of them eat with him at the High Table (where the teachers usually sat). When the delicious meal had ended, Professor Dumbledore stood up and everyone quietened down, waiting for him to speak.
He looked around the table at the students. He smiled, and announced, "Since you are the few privileged ones who are staying at Hogwarts for this Christmas holiday, I'll let you all into a secret. We will be holding a Yule Ball this year again, for the senior students (fourth-year and above). I quote from Professor McGonagall, 'This is a time for you to let down your hair.'"
At this point, a Hufflepuff girl giggled uncontrollably. She blushed and stopped immediately when she found everyone staring at her.
Professor Dumbledore continued, "You are expected to enjoy yourselves, and refresh your minds to get yourselves ready for the exams! This idea was contributed by Professor Flitwick, who had received many complaints of headaches before the exams. He thought that it would be nice for you to enjoy yourselves before you strain your minds! Now, I've finished announcing. The other students will know about this after they return. Thank you."
Professor Dumbledore sat back down. The students applauded. Everyone was cheering for Professor Flitwick, who looked extremely abashed.
The twins turned their attention to Ginny. She was looking at Harry intently.
The twins winked at each other and began making plans.
***
Meanwhile, Harry was extremely horrified. He hadn't expected another time of finding a girl to go out with. He would have tried asking Cho, but he thought that perhaps she would not want to attend the Ball. After all, she would be painfully reminded of Cedric Diggory. He turned to Ron, only to find him with a dreamy expression on his face. He was dreaming of dancing with Hermione at the Yule Ball.
"Ron," Harry poked him. "RON!" Harry said, a bit louder than the last time.
Ron was jerked awake.
"What were you thinking of anyway?"
"Huh? Oh, erm, nothing."
"Who are you going with to the Ball?"
"Hmm." Ron was back in seventh heaven.
"Honestly, Ron, you've gotta help me! I can't be stranded for the Ball again."
"You weren't stranded last year. You had Parvati. Maybe you can ask her again." Ron was not paying attention.
"I'm not asking her again. We just can't communicate. It's hard making intelligent conversations with her."
"Hmm." Ron didn't notice that he had his elbow in the plate of butter. He continued daydreaming.
"Maybe I'll ask Hermione." Harry muttered.
"WHAT?!?" Ron was finally awake. He glared at Harry.
"Ron, keep quiet! Everyone's looking at us!" Harry hissed.
"You're not going with Hermione." Ron hissed back.
"What?" Harry was taken aback.
"Erm. I mean. why would you want to go with Hermione anyway?" Ron went red.
"Because she's the only girl I can speak to without blushing."
"But. I. erm. I mean."
The twins overheard their conversation and went over to rescue Ron. Fred whispered to Harry, "He likes Hermione."
"Oh!" realisation dawned on Harry. "Oops. Okay, Ron, I'll ask someone else."
"Hey, thanks. You're a great pal, Harry!" Ron cheered up considerably.
"I really didn't know you liked Hermione."
"But I do!" Ron was horrified at what he had just said. He hastily said, "I mean. I erm. Hermione's okay."
"Hermione must be more than 'okay' to have made you like her."
"Yep." Ron grinned.
It was going to be the Christmas holidays in a week. Gred and Forge had just recovered from many months of teasing Harry and Ginny since the time they witnessed Harry's proposal to Ginny in the Future. They haven't told anyone about their encounter with the time machine, and everyone was surprised at the twins' sudden interest in getting Harry and Ginny together. They would write notes to the both of them, telling them to meet each other at midnight somewhere around the school; they would encourage Ginny to turn up and watch the Quidditch practices; they would send a Valentine's Day gift to Ginny, stating that it was from Harry. the list goes on. However, all these did not improve their relationship at all - it only resulted in their growing awkwardness when they were with each other. Ginny would blush furiously whenever she was within 5 metres of Harry, and Harry would try to avoid her at all costs. The twins were furious that absolutely nothing could be done to get them together. They were at breakfast, and they were just having a not-so-silent debate between themselves whether to get a break or not during the Christmas holidays (to revise and improve on their matchmaking plan) when Errol dropped a letter in George's pumpkin juice and fainted dead away on the breakfast table.
George looked down at Errol indignantly, "Hey, can't you aim properly?"
Fred, the more humane one, picked up Errol and examined him. "George, give him a break. You know how ancient Errol is, and look at how tired he is! I'll go up to the Owlery and get him recovered after we have read what Mum had written."
George silently thought that perhaps Fred would establish a new society called SPIM (this time it stands for Society for the Protection of Inaccurate Messengers), but he decided against telling Fred about it. He did not want another argument with his twin. They were supposed to be united anyway.
Fred carefully picked up the soaked letter from George's pumpkin juice, took out his wand, and muttered a charm. The letter became dry instantly. He then opened the letter.
Fred and George dears,
We're afraid we can't let you come home during the Christmas Holidays. You see, your father and I have decided to go on a trip to Paris. All my friends are having so many honeymoons and I really envy them! So your father decided to have this honeymoon with me to France, where we can enjoy ourselves without having to take care of you children. Do take care of yourselves and don't get into any mischief! And do keep a lookout on Ron and Ginny - make sure they are alright. We'll soon owl you with loads of pictures when we get back.
Love from Mum.
P.S. I've already written to Ron and Ginny so you don't have to tell them about it.
"Wow." George muttered.
"A honeymoon." Fred murmured.
They looked at each other, and immediately erupted into peals of laughter.
"Oh my, they're already parents and they're going for a honeymoon?" George exclaimed unbelieveably.
"Mum really sounds like a love-struck little girl who is absolutely swept off her feet by Dad's love!"
"Hmm. I wonder if Ginny will sound like that when she writes to us to tell us that she's going on a honeymoon with Harry?" asked George.
Ginny, who was nearby, heard it and knocked over a glass of milk.
Harry, who was also nearby, glared at the twins.
The twins made a wise choice of shutting up, and proceeded to decide not to have a break during the holidays, but instead to make use of their Christmas holidays at Hogwarts with Harry to get the couple together. They looked at each other and grinned. "The Christmas holidays are going to be fun," they thought.
***
Hogwarts was deserted as almost everybody had gone home for the Christmas Holidays. The Weasleys and Harry were the only Gryffindors staying in Hogwarts for Christmas. The twins were in glee when they found that out. They knew that it was the perfect opportunity to get Harry and Ginny together. They also knew that Ron was the only obstacle. He seemed to be stuck to Harry, and wasn't bright enough to sense that the twins were trying to matchmake Harry and Ginny. To make things easier, the twins decided to tell Ron the truth. They pulled Ron into an empty classroom, and began their lectures.
"You see, Ron, we have something really important to tell you." Fred began.
"We need to inform you that we are trying to get Ginny and Harry together." George continued.
"WHAT?!?" Ron bellowed. "YOU CAN'T! GINNY'S MY BABY SISTER! YOU CAN'T - "
The twins hastily covered Ron's mouth. "Do you want everybody to know what we're doing?" George hissed. "Just shut up and listen to us, kid. It'll do you good."
Ron opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, not knowing what to say. He ended up gaping at the twins, searching for an answer.
"Okay. You see, last summer, we were searching the net and we found this article stating that scientists were developing and experimenting a time machine that can bring us to the future and back to the past."
"We were curious about our futures, so we decided to find the Time Machine. We located it using the Marauder's Map - betcha didn't know that it can be used to map places outside of Hogwarts - and we found out that it was being experimented at this deserted house right behind our house."
"So we went there, and went to our futures, and we happened to stumble upon this particular event of Harry proposing to Ginny."
"And Ginny agreed?" asked Ron. His eyes were bulging out from his head.
"Yep. What did you think? Ginny's not stupid you know. She likes Harry and Harry likes her and Harry is such a nice guy."
"But Ginny's my baby sister and I can't let her marry my best friend!" Ron protested.
"Ron," Fred began solemnly, "you have to stop thinking of Ginny as your baby sister. We'll all have to grow up one day and get married. Ginny won't be your 'baby sister' forever. She'll grow up! Besides, what do you think Harry will be thinking of when he finds out about you and Hermione?" Fred grinned.
"What about me and Hermione?" Ron asked curiously.
"Harry must be devastated when he finds out next time that you like Hermione." George said.
"WHAT? ME AND HERMIONE?" Ron practically fainted.
"Don't you like Hermione?" asked Fred.
"Erm. me? Like Hermione? Forget it." Ron said with a note of uncertainty.
"Hmm. who was the one who fought with Hermione when she dated Krum? Who was the one who saw Krum as an enemy instead of an idol? Who was the one who was soooooo angry about Hermione and Krum that he said that Hermione was 'fraternizing with the enemy'?" George asked.
Ron was utterly defeated.
"Okay. so I like Hermione in the future. But it's not like we are getting married or something, right?" Ron said, blushing.
"Hmm. so ickle Ronniekins wants to know about him and Hermione! How interesting. " Fred grinned wickedly.
"Oh shut up."
"To say the truth, you did get engaged to Hermione in the future. You two were like two lovebirds, inseparable and snog-glish and - "
"Shut up. Ok. I get your point. So I'm supposed to help you get Gin and Harry together right?"
"Yes, you dunderhead. For a moment I thought you didn't have any brains." Fred said.
"Okay, I'll help." Ron finally agreed.
"Good. Now you'd better shut up about us looking into our future our else you won't be in one piece next time."
"Fine. And you'd better shut up about me and Hermione too, or else I'll tell everyone about your 'adventure'."
"Deal."
***
It was Christmas Eve and the dining hall looked simply beautiful. Professor Flitwick and Hagrid had put up all kinds of festive decorations, including a glowing Christmas tree. Since there were so few students staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, Professor Dumbledore made all of them eat with him at the High Table (where the teachers usually sat). When the delicious meal had ended, Professor Dumbledore stood up and everyone quietened down, waiting for him to speak.
He looked around the table at the students. He smiled, and announced, "Since you are the few privileged ones who are staying at Hogwarts for this Christmas holiday, I'll let you all into a secret. We will be holding a Yule Ball this year again, for the senior students (fourth-year and above). I quote from Professor McGonagall, 'This is a time for you to let down your hair.'"
At this point, a Hufflepuff girl giggled uncontrollably. She blushed and stopped immediately when she found everyone staring at her.
Professor Dumbledore continued, "You are expected to enjoy yourselves, and refresh your minds to get yourselves ready for the exams! This idea was contributed by Professor Flitwick, who had received many complaints of headaches before the exams. He thought that it would be nice for you to enjoy yourselves before you strain your minds! Now, I've finished announcing. The other students will know about this after they return. Thank you."
Professor Dumbledore sat back down. The students applauded. Everyone was cheering for Professor Flitwick, who looked extremely abashed.
The twins turned their attention to Ginny. She was looking at Harry intently.
The twins winked at each other and began making plans.
***
Meanwhile, Harry was extremely horrified. He hadn't expected another time of finding a girl to go out with. He would have tried asking Cho, but he thought that perhaps she would not want to attend the Ball. After all, she would be painfully reminded of Cedric Diggory. He turned to Ron, only to find him with a dreamy expression on his face. He was dreaming of dancing with Hermione at the Yule Ball.
"Ron," Harry poked him. "RON!" Harry said, a bit louder than the last time.
Ron was jerked awake.
"What were you thinking of anyway?"
"Huh? Oh, erm, nothing."
"Who are you going with to the Ball?"
"Hmm." Ron was back in seventh heaven.
"Honestly, Ron, you've gotta help me! I can't be stranded for the Ball again."
"You weren't stranded last year. You had Parvati. Maybe you can ask her again." Ron was not paying attention.
"I'm not asking her again. We just can't communicate. It's hard making intelligent conversations with her."
"Hmm." Ron didn't notice that he had his elbow in the plate of butter. He continued daydreaming.
"Maybe I'll ask Hermione." Harry muttered.
"WHAT?!?" Ron was finally awake. He glared at Harry.
"Ron, keep quiet! Everyone's looking at us!" Harry hissed.
"You're not going with Hermione." Ron hissed back.
"What?" Harry was taken aback.
"Erm. I mean. why would you want to go with Hermione anyway?" Ron went red.
"Because she's the only girl I can speak to without blushing."
"But. I. erm. I mean."
The twins overheard their conversation and went over to rescue Ron. Fred whispered to Harry, "He likes Hermione."
"Oh!" realisation dawned on Harry. "Oops. Okay, Ron, I'll ask someone else."
"Hey, thanks. You're a great pal, Harry!" Ron cheered up considerably.
"I really didn't know you liked Hermione."
"But I do!" Ron was horrified at what he had just said. He hastily said, "I mean. I erm. Hermione's okay."
"Hermione must be more than 'okay' to have made you like her."
"Yep." Ron grinned.